Tuesday, February 12, 2013

February Tennis in Fort Myers: Recap & Preview

What a month of tennis! Whose idea was it anyway to cram 10,000
tennis events into the shortest month of the year? Ok, so maybe there aren’t
really 10,000, but it sure feels like that to me!

THE RECAP

Here’s a recap of what has transpired thus far in February, and we aren’t
even half-way through the month:

FGCU Sets Attendance Record

Standing room only crowd

After destroying Troy on Friday the 1st, FGCU’s Men’s Tennis
Eagles were bucked by the Mustangs of SMU on Saturday, February 2.

(photo courtesy of Dennis Snyder)

It may have
been a loss on the courts, but it was certainly a win in the stands as a record
crowd witnessed the first night-match of the season.

John Woram Schmoozes the crowd

It takes some doing to break records, and John Woram, with cooperation from FGCU's athletic and facilities departments, and a few key members of the tennis community, particularly Mike Melnik of Shadow Wood Country Club, provided that doing.

The Singing Brooks

With the Singing Brooks choir singing the national anthem, the Lola Loca food truck on hand, PA system blaring, and over 1000

fans in attendance, the FGCU-SMU match was an event that the players and all in attendance will remember.

Tianyu Bao gains only win(photo courtesy of Dennis Snyder)

As for what took place on court, super sophomore Tianyu Bao furnished the only point for the
Eagles against the Mustangs, a team that was coming off tough losses against
top-50 teams. Bao downed Alex Sanders 6-4, 6-4 at No.2 Singles with a
relentless attack.

Despite the dual-match loss, the Eagles played hard in defeat, and sophomore Jordi Vives
at No.1 Singles and junior Lance Lvovsky at No.5 Singles lost heartbreaking

Lance Lvovsky & Dean Tsamas

tiebreaks in their first sets before succumbing in straights. Teamed with Dean Tsamas, Lvovosky lost a nailbiter at No.3 Doubles as well. The Eagles head
to Orlando this weekend to take on UCF’s Knights and one of my old rivals, U-Conn.

Lady Eagles supporting counterparts

FGCU’s Lady Eagles are playing at home this weekend, and
they are off to a 2-0 start to their season and certainly warrant as much support
as the men. They play Houston at 11am on Saturday and Iowa State at 11am on
Sunday. FGCU Men’s Tennis will be home next on Saturday, February 23, at 5pm
against Oklahoma State. Hold down the fort for me; I'll be in Delray.

Gateway Rookie
Tourney

Jacob Freeman

The same weekend, Alex Hermeto and Gateway Country Club
hosted a Rookie Tournament. With relatively new boys and girls tournament players
facing off in age groups from 11 and under through 16 and under, the matches
were every bit as competitive as those you would find anywhere.

Carlos Carbo

Examples of such matches include Chase Babair’s 7-6, 1-6,
10-7 finals win over Harry Housler in the Boys 11 and under division; and Jacob
Freeman’s 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 Boys' 16s finals win over Carlos Carbo, after Carbo had posted a
6-4, 7-5 victory over Aaron Brunswick in the semis.

Julia Curran

But the girls may have
posted the match of the tourney, with Julia Curran’s 4-6, 6-1, 16-14 win over
Katie Meredith in the Semis.

LCCTA Tourney at
Three Oaks

While the rookies were engaging at Gateway, the “veterans,” experienced
boys and girls in 12 and under through 16 and under divisions, were vying for
honors at the Barbara Manzo Tennis Center at Three Oaks Park.

Nikki Perrino

In the Boys’ 12s, No.2 Seed Tyler Carlin marched through the
draw without dropping a set, toppling top-seed Adam Lachenmayr 6-1, 6-4 in the
final. In the Girls’ 12s, No.1 Seed Nikki
Perrino was every bit as impressive, losing just eight games in three matches,
with her toughest match being the final against unseeded Madison Barron. Barron
had come off a tough win in the semis against No.2 Seed Lindsey Bonco (7-5,
2-6, 1-0), but Perrino was too tough, taking the final 6-3, 6-4.

Reynold Greenlaw

In the Girls’ 14s, Emma Scott was the top seed, and she
played like it, winning her two matches without dropping a game. Our local boys
had a tough time in the Boys’ 14s, as both Ethan Littlestone and Reynold Greenlaw
of Cape Coral fell in the semis.

Brothers Greenlaw at TPI Practice

I’m told that there were some scoring/officiating
irregularities in the Greenlaw match that resulted in a heartbreaking 1-6, 6-4,
0-1 loss to second-seeded Raul Rodriguez of Marco Island in the semis. Hate
when that happens…Rodriguez lost 0-6, 4-6 to Graham Conron of Cortez, FL in the
final.

Robert Greenlaw

In the Boys’ 16s, big brother John Carlin had little trouble
taking the division, losing seven games in three matches, and claiming the final
over Robert Greenlaw, 6-2, 6-4. On the Girls’ 16s side, No.2 Seed Stevie
Kennedy was tested a bit more in her march to the title, but didn’t lose more
than six games in any match, including her 7-5, 6-1 victory over Sydney Nowak
in the final.

Edison at Fort Myers Racquet
Club

While the juniors were doing their thing at Gateway and
Three Oaks, the adults were battling at Fort Myers Racquet Club (FMRC) in the longest
running event in the area, the 40th Annual Edison Tennis Classic.

Mark Davis & Carly Carpenter

It
was the first weekend of Mark Davis and Carly Carpenter’s maiden voyage at the
helm of the Edison Classic since they assumed the leadership of FMRC.

Virgil Graves in Men's 3.5

The first weekend of the two-weekend event saw competition
in 10 different divisions, including four men’s singles, three women’s singles
and three mixed doubles draws.

Tye Myers- Open Champ

In the premier event, the Men’s Open, Tye Myers
of Naples took claimed the top prize over Franco Mata, 6-2, 6-3. The real excitement,
however, took place prior the final. Jorge Falla of Naples (dad of tour player Alejandro
Falla) scored one for us

Jorge Falla

seniors when he outlasted Jarrod Goare, last year’s
Open Finalist, in three sets in the quarters, then took this year’s Finalist Mata
to three sets in the semis.

Duane Chaney- 4.5 Champ

The Men’s 3.0 and 4.0 Singles finals featured tough matches,
as Tim Hamilton edged David Flor, 5-7, 6-3, 1-0, and Kevin Watts got past Bruce
Fulkerson in a match tiebreak as well (sorry, didn’t get the score). In the Men’s
4.5 Singles, a division that proved to be as tough as any played that weekend, Duane
Chaney downed David Wyrsch 7-5, 6-4 in the final.

Renee Bailin- 3.5 Champ

The ladies’ draws were small, but the competitors were no
less intense. Kat Hawk (how cool is that name!) defeated Donna Doyle 6-1, 6-4
in the 3.0 Singles final, Renee Bailin took the 3.5 final over Gilly Allen,
6-2, 6-1, and Michelle Compty and Ginny Reed were in the final of the Women’s
4.0 (no result for this one).

Bob Moore & Donna Doyle

As far as Mixed goes, the 6.0 winners were Petrov and Martin
over Moore and Donna Doyle (6-3, 6-3; the 7.0 champions were Dietz and Gentile
over Tyler Delucca and Tracy DiBiase (6-4, 6-3);

and the 8.0 winners were Reed
and Reed over Andy Rundle and Dest (6-2, 6-4). Men’s and Women’s Doubles were
contested this past weekend, but I don’t have results for that yet.

Grandezza Gives Back

Zach & Rich

This past weekend (Sunday the 10th) also featured
a benefit event at the Club at Grandezza, where Lanny Kalpin (Director of
Tennis) and Rich and Trish DeSousa spearheaded the Third Annual Grandezza Gives Back. The event included a Men’s and Women’s
Doubles tournament, a silent auction, and an exhibition. All participants
received an FGCU t-shirt, a “goodie bag,” and more importantly, had a great time.

Mickey & Judy

FGCU’s Men’s Tennis Team was the recipient of the event’s
proceeds this year, as the Grandezza membership seems to have adopted the Eagles.
Coach C. J. was on hand to thank the community for their support and for making
the Eagles an integral part of the Grandezza community.

FGCU Men's Tennis Coach C. J. Weber

“It's
a great honor to feel the warm support from the Grandezza community. To be
closely connected with a community right in our back yard is invaluable, and I
look forward to growing the relationship as time goes on,” Coach Weber remarked.

In addition, the big winner of the silent auction may have
been Tricia Blakeslee who walked away with an Eli Manning-signed football. Of course that
was worth more last year, but hey, it was still a major coup for Tricia.

The biggest winner of all, however, was the FGCU Men's Tennis program, as the event raised over $2800 for the program.

THE PREVIEW

Bobby Nichols at
Fiddlesticks

This coming weekend is another jam-packed tennis weekend. As
mentioned in a previous
post, the Bobby Nichols-Fiddlesticks Charity

Foundation will be hosting the
5th Annual Tennis Tournament and Kids for Kids Walkathon at
Fiddlesticks Country Club. There will be a smorgasbord of activities for children
and adults at Fiddlesticks all weekend.

Team Expo at Park
Meadow Tennis Shop

This Friday the 15th from 10am – 5pm, Park Meadow
Tennis Shop will host its 2nd Annual Team Expo at 1939
Park Meadows Drive, Suite 2 (next door to the shop). Several vendors, including Tail, Bolle, Venus
Williams’ Eleven, and a number of others will be on hand for you to experience up
close and personal. If you play on a women’s team, or are just looking for
something different to wear to the courts, this event is a “must attend.” If
you haven’t been to the Park Meadow Tennis Shop or to their website, you may want to give them a look-see.

14th Annual Sneaky Pete Tournament at Sterling Oaks

A little bit south of
us, at the Club at Sterling Oaks in Naples, the 14th Annual Sneaky
Pete’s Tennis Championship will kickoff this Saturday, the 16th and
runs through the 23rd. Unfortunately, the deadline for event entry was the 11th,
but perhaps you might still be able to get in if you give them a call at
239-566-1800 or email tennis@sterling-oaks.com.

If I weren’t going to be out of town on the 23rd,
I might have signed up myself. There’s prize money, players’ party, gift bags,
and more for all participants. Divisions offered include 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5 men's and women's singles and
7.0, 8.0 and 9.0 doubles and mixed doubles along with the new Open Division. Whether
you make it into a draw or not, there should be some good tennis to watch,
especially in the Open Division.

Ultimate Tennis Deadline

For the multitude of Ultimate Tennis (formerly K-Swiss) warriors
out there, and for those who might be thinking about putting their singles
skills to the test, the deadline for the upcoming Winter Season is this Friday
the 15th.

Our
local women didn’t fare so well in the Fall Season (no champions), but Kat Hawk
did make the semis before falling in three sets to the Finalist. Our men, on the other hand, did quite well,
taking all but two of the seven divisions offered in the fall.

Among
the men's champions were Matthew Roszkowski of Three Oaks
Park (5.0);Christian Karlovits of Rutenberg
Park (4.0); Edison 3.5 Champion Tim
Hamilton of FMRC (3.5); John Thorp of Stoneybrook (3.0); and Oscar Pascual of
Three Oaks (2.5). As you can see, there are levels of competition for anyone
who wants to put his or her singles skills to the test. New members can
register free of charge at https://www.ultimatetennis.com/.

FineMark Classic
at Bonita Bay

The
tennis climax of February will take place at Bonita Bay Club when Paula Scheb and
her outstanding team of staff and volunteers host the FineMark Tour Players Classic
on February 22 & 23. I’ve detailed how special this event is likely to be in
a previous post (scroll to bottom of that post), and the
event’s website provides all the information you could want, along with
opportunities to participate.

In a nutshell, this is a charity event that benefits a very needy population, while allowing the average fan, to play, dine, and spend time with players who have, at one time or another, been ranked among the best tennis players in the world. Over the two days, participants will have the opportunity to watch some of the greats play a team match, will get the chance to have breakfast, lunch and/or dinner with the world class athletes, and play with a tennis legend in the Pro Am.

Proceeds from the FineMark Tour Players Classic are donated to Barbara's Friends Cancer Fund- The Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida, and will be doubled by the matching grant of Tom Golisano. Please visit the above website or call 239-343-6950 for additional information and to register for the event. Wow huh? tons of tennis to play and see! I'll do my best to keep you posted, but there's only so much gas in this tank. See you around the courts. Game, set, match...T. A.

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Welcome!

Nice of you to drop in! You are likely to find just about anything related to tennis in this blog, but I will try to make whatever you find here informative, entertaining, and/or thought provoking.

Generally the blogs will be about events, but you might find some random thoughts and tennis tips as well. Hope you enjoy the time you spend here. If you have a good time, become a follower and pass on the link to anyone who might enjoy it as well.

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